Stewart Versus O'Reilly - The Debate Rages On

NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- They are invited into viewers' lives on a regular basis, but where do we draw the line for some of the top news or media personalities? Would you want to have dinner with them?  Take a weekend trip with them?  Some yes; some, not so much!  Taking a small number of personalities - Wolf Blitzer, Stephen Colbert, Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart - The Harris Poll set out to answer these questions and more.

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Looking at these six distinct media personalities, among those who watch any of their shows, Bill O'Reilly earns the distinction of being the top figure viewers want to have dinner with (21%), as well as the one they would least like to have dinner with (38%).  In fact, O'Reilly is the personality viewers would least like to hang out with at a sports bar (36%), invite to their home for a party (37%), take a weekend trip with (38%) and discuss politics with (37%).

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,133 adults surveyed online between October 15 and 17, 2012 by Harris Interactive.

Jon Stewart earns the honor of being the personality, among those Americans who watch any of these figures' shows, of being the one they would most like to hang out with at a sports bar (26%), invite to their home for a party (23%), and take a weekend trip with (15%).  When it comes to discussing politics, O'Reilly is back in first place (25%), followed by Stewart (19%).

Stewart versus O'Reilly

It is fitting that Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly are battling for top "honors" on these distinctions as they have created something of a cottage industry out of their on screen battles, the most recent example of this being a pay per view debate in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.  When it comes to which man is a better debater in general, it's a tie among those who watch either of their shows – 38% say it's O'Reilly, while 37% say it's Stewart and 25% say both are the same.

Looking at some lighter topics, Jon Stewart walks away with several wins.  Almost three-quarters of those who watch either show say Jon Stewart has better hair (73%), while over half say he has better guests (59%) and a better studio (57%).  But, Bill O'Reilly edges Stewart out on wardrobe:  over half say O'Reilly has better suits (54%).

So What?

Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly appeal to very different audiences, and what may have started out as a semi-real feud has developed into something more closely resembling a road show.  But at the end of the day, they are looking to do the same thing – educate their audiences and provide news in a certain way.  So put aside from the hair, the studios and the suits, how different are they?

TABLE 1
 PROGRAMS WATCHED
"Do you watch any of the following programs? Please select all that apply."

Base:  All U.S. adults

Note: Multiple responses accepted.

TABLE 2A
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would most want to have dinner with?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2B
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD MOST LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH AT A SPORTS BAR
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would most want to hang out with at a sports bar?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2C
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD MOST LIKE TO INVITE TO YOUR HOME FOR A PARTY
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would most want to your home for a party?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Note: * signifies less than 1%

TABLE 2D
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD MOST LIKE TO TAKE A WEEKEND TRIP WITH
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would most want to take a weekend trip with?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2E
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD MOST LIKE TO DISCUSS POLITICS WITH
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would most want to discuss politics with?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 3A
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD LEAST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would least want to have dinner with?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 3B
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD LEAST LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH AT A SPORTS BAR
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would least want to hang out with at a sports bar?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 3C
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD LEAST LIKE TO INVITE TO YOUR HOME FOR A PARTY
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would least want to your home for a party?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 3D
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD LEAST LIKE TO TAKE A WEEKEND TRIP WITH
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would least want to take a weekend trip with?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 3E
NEWS MEDIA PERSONALITY WOULD LEAST LIKE TO DISCUSS POLITICS WITH
"Please select which one of the following people is the one you would least want to discuss politics with?"

Base:  Watch any tested show

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 4
STEWART VERSUS O'REILLY IN DEBATING
"As you may know, recently Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly met in Washington, D.C. for a debate where they went head to head on a number of various topics. While you may not have seen the debate, based on what you know about the two men, who do you think is the better debater in general?"

Base:  Watch Stewart and/or O'Reilly

Percentages may not add up exactly to 100 percent due to rounding

TABLE 5
STEWART VERSUS O'REILLY
"Looking at various items listed below, which of the two men would you say has the better…?"

Base:  Watch Stewart and/or O'Reilly

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100 percent due to rounding

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between October 15 and 17, 2012 among 2,133 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 942 watch any of the tested programs. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

The Harris Poll^® #59, October 24, 2012
By: Regina A. Corso, Senior Vice President, Harris Poll and Public Relations

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 196 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients—stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive